3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 1/20/21
While building a daily fantasy basketball lineup, it's important to make sure you find the right studs to anchor your team. As the most expensive players in your lineup, they need big-time production to match their high salaries.
You may find it hard to fit some of these guys in while staying under the salary cap, but you can check out our projections to find value players for your rosters. Let's take a look at the top high-salaried DraftKings plays of the day.
[Editor's note: The Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies game has been postponed.]
Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers
DraftKings Salary: $10,400
One of the night's biggest questions is, "Who steps up for Portland?" With both C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic sidelined due to injuries, the most obvious choice is Damian Lillard, the team's unquestioned leader.
Lillard has been less efficient than he was last season, but he's still managed 28.1 points and 47.1 DraftKings points per game through 14 contests. In doing so he's shot 44.1% from the floor with a 29.5% usage rate and 29.2% assist rate, according to NBA.com. However, the splits without the Blazers' other two studs suggest a much larger load for Dame. Per NBA Wowy, he has averaged 1.32 DK points per minute on a 32.1% usage rate, compared to marks of 1.23 and 27.0% when all three share the floor.
The matchup sets up well for Lillard, too. Memphis is a top-five team by defensive rating, yet FantasyPros tells us that they give up 48.9 DK points per game to point guards. This could be the start of one of those legendary Lillard heaters we've seen in years past.
Nikola Vucevic, C, Orlando Magic
DraftKings Salary: $8,600
It's somewhat surprising to see Nikola Vucevic's salary short of the $9,000 threshold. As a model of consistency, he's averaged a double-double and 47.3 DK points per night, while using a team-high 26.8% of Orlando's offensive possessions.
Combining that high usage with Vooch's 31.4 minutes a game, it's hard to pass him up against these Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves will be without Karl-Anthony Towns once again, and it's evident that his absence has limited them on the defensive end this year. Their 111.0 defensive rating has jumped up to 115.7 in the 449 minutes they have played without their star big man.
With his elite low- and high-post games, Vucevic should eat against the inexperience of guys like Naz Reid and Jarred Vanderbilt. Expect him to fly past 45 DK points and flirt with more than 50 for the fourth time in just six games.
Ja Morant, PG, Memphis Grizzlies
DraftKings Salary: $7,300
The matchup of Lillard versus Ja Morant will be an exciting one for fans and viewers. Not only are they franchise players for their respective teams, but neither of them have done well at limiting opposing floor generals. And that goes for the veteran more than the second-year phenom.
Allowing 29.1 points, 3.6 threes and 53.5 DK points per game to point guards, the Blazers are the sixth-worst team at defending the position. That stems from Lillard's offensive workload, but also their 26th-ranked defense. A bottom-five defense, coupled with an above average pace, has them allowing 115.9 points a game.
That's what we like to see when rolling out a triple-double threat like Morant. He is posting 46.1 DK points per game and 1.38 per minute in the four healthy games he's played this season. Lock him in as the steal of the night.
Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
